Method for the production of candles



3 Shee ts-Sheet 1 E. F. PINNEY METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CANDLES Dec. 21-, 1943.

Filed Sept. 26, 1945 BY GENT ATTORNEY Dec. 21, 1948. E. F. PINNEY I 2,457,088

' METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OFCAVNDLES Filed Sept. 26, 1945 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR film Ear E 7 07M:

BY i AEEN R ATTORNEY- METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CANDLES Filed Sept. 26, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. E RNE S T F P/N/VEY ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 21, 1948 METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CANDLES Ernest F. Pinney, Glen Cove, N. Y., assignor to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y a corporation of New York Application September 26, 1945, Serial No. 618,767

2 Claims.

One of the oldest art-s in the world is that of candle making. Similarly it is one in which probably the least modernization has occurred. The major changes around the first of this century passed from hand dipping or molding in single hand filled molds to a method of molding entirely similar in its essentials to the old hand method except that it was executed in multiple molds capable of producing a large number of candles, ranging from several dozen to several gross, dependent upon the size of the candle.

This invention has to do with a new and improved method of making candles particularly suitable for the manufacture of a large number of candles at a low production cost.

The invention is based upon the concept of extrusion, that is, a candle stock mixture is reduced from a liquid to a plastic condition and extruded through a die to form a continuous candle rod, which candle rod is later severed into lengths to form candles of commerce.

The mechanical setup of the invention may be readily understood by reference to the drawings attached to this specification. In these drawings, Figure 1 shows a general view, partially in section, of the candle forming machine. Figure 2 is a detail of the method of drive therefor, as is Figure 3, and Figure 4 shows the essential details in section of the die and associated parts which are the essential candle forming mechanism. Figure 5 is a highly diagrammatic showing of the entire operating setup.

Turning now to Figure 1, we find shown therein a supply tank 5 wherein a liquid candle stock mixture is stored, to pass downwardly into a series of heat exchange tubes 6, 6 and 6, exactly similar to the conventional Carbondale and other wax chillers used in the paraffin recovery practice of the oil industry. Each heat exchanger consists of an inner pipe 'l'surrounded by a jacket 8 to which cooling material is supplied, as by pipe 9. These inner tubes, through which the candle mixture flows to be chilled, are connected serially by return bends, as is shown quite clearly in the drawing. Each cooling tube has mounted inside of it a helical scroll or scraper blade it carried by a shaft II, which shaft is supported upon proper'outboard bearings l2, l2 at either end of the heat exchanger tube. These scrapers are driven by a chain mechanism later explained in detail, and their direction of rotation is such that in rotating they tend to force the plastic mass to which candle stock mixture is chilled through the serially connected cooling tubes, imposing thereupon suflicient pressure to force it out of the Not only do these scrapers accomplish this function of moving the material through the chilling apparatus, but of equal and possibly of more importance, they keep the interior walls of the heat exchanger tubes freed from the deposit of wax formed other than by the chilling and so keep the rate of heat exchange in the chiller constant.

The scraper mechanism in the upper exchanger tube 6 and the middle exchanger tube 6, is the same except for directional function. However, in the lower tube of the three a change is made. In this tube, shaft f3 carrying scraper I4 is hollow, and while it is supported by an outboard bearing l2 at the left hand or entry end of the tube in which it is placed, this shaft and its accompanying scraper terminate short of the discharge end of the tube and are carried internally upon bearings l5 supported in a proper spider situated internally of the cooling tube. A second shaft It extends throughout the length of the hollow shaft I4, is driven upon its drive end by a separate drive at H, is supported within the right hand extremity of the lowermost cooling tube by another internal spider, not shown, and carries in the space between this last named bearing and the end of shaft l3 a scraper or scroll 18. This scraper or scroll I8 is so mounted upon the shaft that while its rotation serves to advance the plastic material which the candle stock has now become in the same direction, its rotation is counter to the direction of rotation of scroll l4, and preferably its pitch is quite different from that of scroll M. This change in construction is made to insure complete mixing of the plastic candle stock prior to its exit from the chilling stage of the operation. The chiller is equipped with a cutoff valve [9 at its discharge end with a candle forming die 20 which is later explained and with a wick supply spool 2|.

Turning to Figures 2 and 3 and reading them in connection with Figure 1, we find the drive mechanism for this chiller to be as follows:

A motor 22 through a chain 23 and a gear and a speed reducer 24 drives chain 25. Chain 25 acting through sprocket wheel 26, keyed upon the outboard extension of shaft l3, in turn actuates sprocket wheel 21, which is also keyed to shaft I3 and chain 28 passing thereover as is shown in Figure 3 actuates successively sprocket wheels 29 and 30, each of which is keyed to the shaft mounted within another chilling tube, returning finally over idler 31'. This arrangement is conventional for chillers of this type, except as to matters of speed choice which are dependent upon the heat transfer characteristics of the chiller and physical nature of the mixture being handled and may be selected as is well known within the art. In order to provide for the drive of the mixer section l8 near the terminal of the chiller, the shaft in that chilling tube next above the terminal chilling --tiibe which shaft rotatesin a direction opposite to that-in the"termin'al chilling tube. is extended at its outboard end to support and drive sprocket Wheel 32, (Figures 1 and 2) which sprocket wheel through chained-drives sprocket wheel l! which is keyed upon'the outboard end of shaft l6 which supports scroll 3.

Turning now to Figure l, we "find -=an-expl ana tion of the mechanism through*'whic'hthe ex truded candle is formed. Mounted upon'the'outboard valve 59 at the terminal end of'tthachil ler, there is a flange 34 supporting a tapered cone 35 which ends in a die ring 36 of the size towhich beii tube -39Fextendingithrough' the wa'll ofi'cone (impendin into' thetlflowo'fl'the plasticn'iass and terminating upon tnercenter linethereof so that th eewick 3 8' mayrb ewithdrawn'ztherethrough and positioned" centrally within -the "car-idle rod as it is :extruded; Another;andrpossibly a better fway, of introducing thevwick'is to'provi'de' for, as shaft l fi,"(seerFigure l), a centrallyfidrilledtube and'to feed-the wick into thecandle throughoutthc length rofa'thistube. r 1

Upon Eextrusion, 1 the candle rod p'a'sses tiinto' trough lfi;in whiCh -there isimaintained a supply olvwater l' tor -the purpose hereinafteiiex-plained. J rFigure 5 there is a-diagrammatic showing of the rentire' operating setup: PI-Iere' there is shown -the supply tank' 5,=the chiller 6; yalve t9, triadic tube-35, wickfiiifl coming' from wickasu'pply 21, and-'candle: rod 42 passingsfromi'the" die"; into chil-ler ktrou'gh" 40. Emerging from the opposite end: of: trougl'iifll' the candle? rod ilfpasses over table dhis severedy as by" reciprocating knife-er otherseveringmeans'sAMan-d the severed end". is removedto further pI'OCGSSiHEbYCOHVEYOKG5'. v

":Iheiimereutilization of the'mechanicalrsetup hereinbeforeex plained is nots'ufiicient to produce good candles withoutt proper control :ofthe' 'variables. present. For example, the temperature at which the candlerstock mix ar'r-ives 'justprior to the pointrof e'Xtrusion -is an important variable 'in the-process. "stock' must "be" at a temperature sufficiently far: below itswmelting point to assure that the candle-when formed issufiicientlystrong physically: -tobe handled in' the subsequent coolingtrough -without substantial kinking-j or bending or deformation of itsc-surface. Yet the candle stock-must "not be :too- -far 'chilled because their. it will not -onlyj require largeramounts of T =powerfor handling, but will give a much lessesatisractory candle and onewhich exhibits surface tear and pitting and iotherfjimperfections. -=In -.general, the rpropervtemperature eral un -desirable features.

4 for extrusion will be found to range from 8 F. to 20 F. below the melting point (American melting point) A. S. T. M. method. Other important details center around the handling of the candle rod in the cooling trough 40. Only a small portion of one end of this cooling trough is shown in the drawing. In practice it: is not iccnsiderable length, usually about -feet'"1ong 'andthe cooling of the candle rod therein is divided into two First, a tempering stage and second, a

candle rod when extruded, and not sub- J'ected to further treatment, is found to have sev- Probably the most pronounced offithese. is a longitudinal crystalline structure; almostfibrous in nature, coupled with 'udeatmightwbe ter-med a case-hardened conditi0n.at the surface of the rod. This condition leaddto extremely erratic burning of the candle. For example, a 1%," diameter candle 5" long, formed without tempering, will usually "burn rather decently for "theifirst two inches or so-of itslength. "After tht'itasthe heat of the fiame works its way-downwardly into-- the body of the. candle, the dl ffercnce in" crystalline-structure apparently results in -a melting of -the intriior: of 'ther'candle long bei ore the exteriorshellof' the candlel melts with resulting pressure effect ofsome kind: or

. anothei' whiclr'usuallyends i-n thecand-le" bloom ingi that" is, -eXpanding-': into a structure rather resemblingthe" flowerof the well :known calla cal uselessnessof aboutihalf of'the length of the originaPcandle. A 'prope'ily tempered candle on the other hand w'-il1 burn alm'ostlycompletely without essential change in its*-burningcharacteri'stics"afterit has once: been well started. v

-Thistempering-is-achieved by maintaining within the first portion ofi-the'cooling trough,- that is within' 'the' tempering portioma bath of water which' is at from' about" I-5" .'F'. to about -4=0"- F.'.-below the-"melting'point of 'thecandle stock mixture; It HaS'beenZfound that'the time during which the candle should be -tempered, which depends upon thefdiametenof the candley is about to 1 /2 minutes. 'I-Iaving determined the rate at which a-e-andlewodis extruded, this determines the length of the'tempering-section of trough '40.

"The cooling section oftrough dfl is much sim pler in concept and"-nier'e'ly: consists of a portion through "which 'water"is "flowed-- at a temperature suifioiently low-with respect to the length of the trough to 'harde'nthe: candle rod-sothat it will standi'subsequent' handling."

While two tunctional secti-ons of trough 4D have-beendescribed, there-is no necessity for a major' physicaliidivisionffintotwo troughs. It is sufficientnnierely' to "elevate the "bottom of the trough slightly mean ther'point' of division so that asmajor fiowrofr the water-xiii either section is awayi'from thisz' point of division towards either end andamajoruamount-of mixing of the two baths will 'nct ocour :oruat 'least' not sufficient to trouble:properloperation. At the delivery end or trough; the "bottom ofathe trougnmay be brought :up :o-n a slope to'r'aise the rod above the watersor a conve'yor, motor driven, synchronized witlirate of extrusion 'may be installed at end or trough an tooonvey ca-ndle rod to a followin oottingionit;

-'"'The' operlationiarid apparatus above described have::-- achieved the pro'duction i of "a continuous candle rod. i-This rod isthen severed into ="lengths,

8 as shown in my copending applications Serial Number 618,770, and Serial Number 618,768, both filed September 26, 1944, (the latter now bein abandoned), and tipped as shown in my application Serial Number 618,769, now U. S. Patent 2,415,369.

I claim:

1. That method for the production of candles which comprises flowing a liquid candle stock melt into a chiller and advancing it therethrough while chilling it to a plastic condition, mixing and extruding the chilled plastic stock from said chiller through a candle rod forming die, disposing a wick in said stock prior to extrustion so that it will extend axially of the candle rod formed by extrusion, passing the candle rod through a first controlled cooling at a temperature of from about 15 F. to about 40 F. below the melting point of the stock, said first cooling step being of a duration of from about /2 to 1 /2 minutes and sufficient to permit adjustment of its internal structure to a substantially non-oriented crystal arrangement and then through a second cooling step to harden it to a point where it will withstand mechanical handling, and severing the continuously extruded rod into desired lengths.

2. That method for the production of candles which comprises flowing a liquid candle stock melt into a chiller and advancing it therethrough while chilling it to a plastic condition, at a temperature of from about 8 F. to about 20 F. below the melting point of the stock, mixing and extruding the chilled plastic stock from said chiller through a candle rod forming die, disposing a wick in said stock prior to extrusion so that it will extend axially of the candle rod formed by extrusion, passing the candle rod through a first controlled cooling to a temperature of from about 15 F. to about 40 F. below the melting point of the stock, said first cooling step being of a duration of from about /2 to about 1 minutes and sufficient to permit adjustment of its internal structure to a substantially non-oriented crystal arrangement and then through a second cooling step to harden it to a point where it will Withstand mechanical handling, and severing the continuously extruded rod into desired lengths.

ERNEST F. PINNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,294,008 Will Feb. 11, 1919 1,312,424 Richardson Aug. 5, 1919 1,361,346 Nichols Dec. 7, 1920 1,571,589 Kerr Feb. 2, 1926 

